Teemu Hartikainen has breakout game in Oilers win over Ducks

Teemu Hartikainen has breakout game in Edmonton Oilers win over Anaheim Ducks

By Joanne Ireland

ANAHEIM – It took Teemu Hartikainen just 15 seconds to take advantage of his elevation to the Edmonton Oilers’ top line.

But he didn’t stop there. The winger, auditioning for regular NHL work next season, and doing it alongside Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle, scored his first and second goals of the season to spark the Oilers to a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks Sunday at the Honda Center.

The Oilers had a 2-1 first-period lead on just three shots against Ducks ­goalie Jonas Hiller, who had allowed just 16 goals in his last 11 games against Edmonton. In fact, the Ducks had shut out ­Edmonton in two of three previous meetings.

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In what was the Ducks’ last home game and the first of two meetings against the Oilers — the teams meet again Thursday in Edmonton — Hartikainen’s Finnish countryman and future Hall of Famer, Teemu Selanne, got Anaheim on the board at 14:12 of the first period.

The Oilers got a solid night’s work from goaltender Devan Dubnyk, who turned away 32 shots, including a last gasp breakway attempt by Selanne. He did it behind a defence that was without Jeff Petry and Ladislav Smid.

The Ducks outshot Edmonton 15-5 in the third.

Notes: Winger Ales Hemsky didn’t finish the game (shoulder injury) … Defenceman Cam Barker, who drew in for his first game since Feb. 29, popped Jason Blake then got into a scrap with Ryan Getzlaf. There were other spats. Bobby Ryan clobbered Oilers defenceman Corey Potter and his only penalty was having to put up with Andy Sutton who stepped in to rough him up before Devante Smith-Pelly went after Sutton … Colten Teubert, called up from the Oilers farm team on Saturday, had a third-period scrap with Sheldon Brookbank.